The Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that was looking to complete a storybook comeback in the NFL this season, hosted the Tennessee Titans on Saturday. At stake was the divisional title for the AFC South.
The Jaguars, thanks to a huge defensive play late in the fourth quarter, won the game in a contest that had a final score that was within an unconverted touchdown. The result was Tennessee 16, and Jacksonville 20 as the Jags secured the division and a chance to play next week in Wild Card Weekend -- with home-field advantage.
Game Summary Week 18: Tennessee vs Jacksonville
- Final score: Tennessee 16, Jacksonville 20
- The Titans fell to 7-10
- The Jaguars, with the win, improved to 9-8
- Trevor Lawrence's passer rating: 92.2
- Joshua Dobbs's passer rating: 82.4
Titans @ Jaguars Saturday: Jacksonville in the playoffs
With the loss, the Titans are finished with a final record of 7-10 on the season. The year will be remembered for the second half of the season.
At one point, Tennessee seemed to be an absolute lock to win their division with both a 7-3 record and not much noise from the lower teams. However, seven straight losses capped a horrific downturn for the team. It all came to fruition when their third quarterback of the season, Joshua Dobbs, fumbled late in Week 18 and the Jags returns the fumble for a difference-making touchdown.
The Jaguars improved to finish the regular season with a 9-8 record. They will host next week as the four seed in the AFC. They could face either the Los Angeles Chargers or the Baltimore Ravens.
The Jags winning their division and qualifying for the playoffs means that a couple of our early-season betting tips in antepost have hit. These were bets that looked dead in the water at some points of the season. However, we tipped the Jags to win the AFC South back in late September at 5 to 2 (bet365). Earlier than that, we tipped the Jags at +310 (31/10) to make the playoffs.
Trevor Lawrence passes for 212 yards
Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars was the winning quarterback in the game. He had 212 passing yards in the outing and his ratio of TDs to INTs was 1 to 0. Lawrence had a passer rating of 92.2 in a game that marks an early career highlight for him.
Joshua Dobbs of the Titans was the losing quarterback in the game. He had 179 passing yards in the outing and his ratio of TDs to INTs was 1 to 1. Dobbs had a passer rating of 82.4 and, perhaps, was thrown into an unfair situation. He was not even with the team until late December and was then charged with winning some difficult and pressure-filled games.
Further reading: Our recent NFL Power Rankings
